Durbin Meets with Raven, Discusses Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met with representatives of Raven, a 501(c)(4) organization representing the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces, including its CEO John Pizzuro. The group discussed the ICAC Task Force Program, representing over 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies dedicated to investigating, prosecuting, and developing effective responses to internet crimes against children.
“I’m grateful for Mr. Pizzuro and Raven’s critical work to respond to internet crimes against kids, and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will advocate for increased funding to support such efforts. Law enforcement should not be alone in the fight against online child sexual exploitation. Big Tech must do its part, or be held accountable for its failure to do so. Congress must continue to engage law enforcement and partner organizations as we advance legislation to protect kids online. I thank Raven for their support for mySTOP CSAM Act as we push to bring our bipartisan kids online safety legislation to a vote on the Senate floor,” said Durbin.
A photo of the meeting are available here.
Raven endorsed Durbin’s STOP CSAM Act and other bills advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee to protect children online, and Mr. Pizzuro testified before the Committee in February 2023.
This Congress, the Committee has unanimously reported multiple bipartisan bills to help stop the exploitation of kids online, including:
- The STOP CSAM Act, which supports victims and increases accountability and transparency for online platforms;
- The EARN IT Act, which removes tech’s blanket immunity from civil and criminal liability under child sexual abuse material laws and establishes a National Commission on Online Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention;
- The SHIELD Act, which ensures that federal prosecutors have appropriate and effective tools to address the nonconsensual distribution of sexual imagery;
- The Project Safe Childhood Act, which modernizes the investigation and prosecution of online child exploitation crimes; and,
- The REPORT Act, which combats the rise in online child sexual exploitation by establishing new measures to help strengthen reporting of those crimes to the CyberTipline, and which was signed into law yesterday.
Visit this webpage for an overview of the Committee’s efforts, including descriptions of the pending legislation and a timeline of events.
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